on Wednesday, in a meeting in Paris, Moscow and Kyiv committed to observing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine after an eight-hour-long discussion where a French diplomat sent a "good signal." French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the condition of anonymity and stressed that the talks in Paris had been regarding the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014. He further added that the question was if the Russians wanted to signal a thaw”. According to him the “difficult” discussions had finally resulted in something positive. As Moscow presses demands over NATO's presenc
Iran's southeastern port of Chabahar and two western Indian ports of Nhava Sheva and Kandla have established a direct container shipping route to bypass Pakistan. Jalil Eslami, Deputy Head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO), has announced that the first container service will arrive in Shahid Beheshti port on February 16. The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) container services are performed with a traffic schedule of 10 to 15 days. The shipping line between CHabahar and the Indian ports of Mumbai and Mundra was previously launched by India in 2017. The second di
With Prime Minister Marion Draghi as the most prominent candidate in a wide-open market, Italy’s parliament will begin voting on Monday for a new head of state which will be closely monitored by financial markets. Italian politicians are concerned about the election result might spark new uncertainty in the third-largest economy in the eurozone, which is grappling with a resurgence of COVID-19 infections and deaths. At 1400 GMT, more than 1,000 parliamentarians and regional representatives will convene for the first of several rounds of secret voting to replace outgoing Italian Presid
On Friday, the World Economic Forum has announced that for May 22-26, the Davos summit will be held in person for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annual meetings of the world's political, economic, and business elite are held in Davos, a resort in the Swiss Alps, in January. However, the forum did not take place in 2020’s January despite repeated postponements along with a proposed one-off shift to Singapore. The WEF founder Klaus Schwab said, “After all the virtual meetings taking place in the last two years, leaders from politics, business, and civil society have to c
The Central Asian summit will be held in a virtual format on January 27 by the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the leader of five central Asian visits was canceled due to a rise in the COVID-19 cases. Mr. Modi will host the first meeting with the participation of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The foreign ministry said, “The first India-Central Asia summit is a reflection of India’s growing engagement with the central Asian countries, which are a part of India’s ‘e
On Tuesday, the Indonesian parliament approved a bill giving the green light for Kalimantan to be the new national capital. The capital will be given a new name “Nusantara”. In 2019, President Joko Widodo announced a planned relocation of the nation’s capital from Jakarta metropolitan to East Kalimantan. According to the government official, the new capital was required due to the congestion of the current capital and to accelerate the economic development of Kalimantan. COVID-19 has caused the project, estimated to cost over $30 billion, to be put on hold. The city of Nusantara w
On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi delivers a special address at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos Agenda. Every year the WEF is held at the Swiss ski resort of Davos. However, this year it has been postponed. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event is being held virtually from January 12-21. A week-long online event is held instead to decide on the talking points for the annual meeting scheduled in the summer. According to the WEF website, at 1600 hours Central European Time (CET) or 8:30 pm IST the address is scheduled to take place. Along with PM Modi, vario
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien has emphasized the need for the ASEAN chairman to engage with all parties to the Myanmar crisis. On Friday, after receiving a video call from his Cambodian counterpart, Mr. Hun Sen, Mr. Lee made the statement. Under the bloc's rotating arrangement, Cambodia is currently the ASEAN chair and Mr. Hun Sen just returned from talks with Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. During the meeting, Mr. Lee reaffirmed Singapore's support for Cambodia's Asean chairmanship and thanked Mr. Hun Sen for the briefing on his recent trip, noting
The Philippines has accepted Indian BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd's proposal to provide the Philippine Navy with a Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project worth $374.9 million, a major boost to India's defense export plans. Indian ties with the nation have been upgraded over the last few years as the nations are negotiating preferential trade agreements and expanding their defense partnership further. With this partnership, this BrahMos order is a major military export by India. Jointly developed with Russia, the supersonic missile will be available in multiple versions in the
The violence over the past week in Kazakhstan shook the nation will killing more than 160 people and 5,000 people under arrest and 125 separate investigations are being held. According to Sputnik news agency, the health ministry said two children were among the 164 dead in the country's deadliest outbreak of violence in its 30 years of independence. Police sometimes fired into the air to stop people approaching the city's central square on Sunday, with the nation's economic hub appearing to return to relative calm. Almaty, the main city of Kazakhstan saw one of the worst unrest and reporte